{"id":25047216,"date":"2026-09-27T11:06:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T09:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/spy-planes-flightradar24-ads-b-mlat-rc-135-global-hawk-tracking\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T11:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T09:07:07","slug":"spy-planes-flightradar24-ads-b-mlat-rc-135-global-hawk-tracking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/es\/spy-planes-flightradar24-ads-b-mlat-rc-135-global-hawk-tracking\/","title":{"rendered":"Spy Planes on Flightradar24: How ADS-B Tracking Exposes the RC-135"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n\r\n<p>Open a flight-tracking app on almost any day and look at the Black Sea or the Baltic. Among the airliners you will often find something that does not belong: a four-engined jet flying long racetrack patterns off a coastline, or a drone orbiting at 50,000 feet for most of a day. They are spy planes, and anyone with a phone can watch them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It seems like a contradiction. Why would an intelligence-gathering aircraft broadcast its own position to the world? The answer lies in a technology called ADS-B, in the rules of international airspace, and in a network of tens of thousands of enthusiasts&#39; receivers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f5f7;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:8px 0 28px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:17px\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px;line-height:1.7\"><li><strong>ADS-B:<\/strong> Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast: the aircraft broadcasts its identity, position, altitude and velocity<\/li><li><strong>Frequencies:<\/strong> 1090 MHz Extended Squitter for most aircraft; 978 MHz UAT for some US general aviation<\/li><li><strong>US mandate:<\/strong> Required in most controlled US airspace since 1 January 2020<\/li><li><strong>MLAT:<\/strong> Multilateration: locating aircraft without ADS-B position data from the timing of their transponder signals at several receivers<\/li><li><strong>Flightradar24 network:<\/strong> More than 50,000 receivers on seven continents and in space, according to the company<\/li><li><strong>Encryption:<\/strong> None: ADS-B signals are unencrypted and can be received by anyone<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">How ADS-B Gives the Game Away<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>ADS-B is simple. An equipped aircraft works out its position from satellite navigation and broadcasts it automatically, along with its identity, altitude and speed, with no action from the pilot. Air traffic control uses the data, and so do other aircraft. So does anyone else with a cheap receiver and an antenna, because the signals are not encrypted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Flight-tracking services such as Flightradar24 collect these broadcasts from volunteers&#39; receivers around the world. For aircraft whose transponders send an identity but no position, they use multilateration: several receivers note the precise moment the same signal arrives, and the differences in timing reveal where the aircraft is. Many military aircraft fall into this category, according to Flightradar24, because they carry Mode S transponders that send less data.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 6px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7K1xFb1REHU\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">Flightradar24 explains how ADS-B tracking works. Video: Flightradar24<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why Spy Planes Switch Their Transponders On<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Reconnaissance aircraft such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/rc-135s-cobra-ball-missile-tracking-spy-plane\/\">RC-135<\/a> usually fly in international airspace, often through busy airline corridors. Broadcasting their position lets air traffic controllers and airliners see them and keep their distance. According to The Aviationist, that safety and deconfliction role, under the principle of due regard in international airspace, is why military aircraft transmit at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Crucially, switching the transponder on gives little away to an adversary. The country being watched tracks these aircraft on its own radar anyway, with or without ADS-B. The people who learn most from the broadcasts are the public and the open-source intelligence community.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/raf-rc-135w-rivet-joint-zz664-mildenhall.jpg\" alt=\"RAF RC-135W Rivet Joint ZZ664\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Royal Air Force RC-135W Rivet Joint ZZ664. The RAF&#39;s Rivet Joints regularly appear on public flight trackers when they fly over the Baltic and the Black Sea. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Hex Code Affair<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Not every broadcast is what it seems. On 7 September 2020, during a mission near China&#39;s Hainan island, a US Air Force RC-135W transmitted a Malaysian aircraft&#39;s hex code instead of its own, according to The Aviationist. It caused a stir online, but the change made no difference to Chinese air defences, which identify aircraft by radar, flight plans and track history, not only by transponder codes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;There is ZERO operational advantage, repeat ZERO advantage in doing this.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Robert Hopkins<\/strong> &mdash; former RC-135 aircraft commander, quoted by The Aviationist<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Hopkins suggested the only audience such tricks confuse is the amateur tracking community, and argued the practice was counterproductive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;It only serves to undermine a legitimate and safe operation in international airspace.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Robert Hopkins<\/strong> &mdash; former RC-135 aircraft commander, quoted by The Aviationist<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What the Trackers See<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Flightradar24 published a guide to the military traffic its users were watching around the country: <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/rq-4-global-hawk\/\">RQ-4 Global Hawk<\/a> drones under the callsign FORTE flying distinctive patterns over the Black Sea at more than 50,000 feet, RAF RC-135s from Waddington near Ukraine&#39;s western border and Belarus, NATO E-3 AWACS, tankers and transports.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/rq-4-global-hawk-surveillance-drone-flight.jpg\" alt=\"RQ-4 Global Hawk in flight\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An RQ-4 Global Hawk. Drones of this type flying as FORTE became some of the most watched aircraft on public flight trackers over the Black Sea. US Air Force photo \/ Wikimedia Commons, public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The watching continues. On 25 September 2026, UK Defence Journal reported, based on Flightradar24 data, that both of the RAF&#39;s operational Rivet Joints had flown intelligence missions at the same time, one around the Baltic and Kaliningrad and one over the Black Sea. Specialist sites such as ItaMilRadar track the same aircraft day by day. What was once secret is now, at least in outline, a matter of public record.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 6px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F-v54MlxMIo\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">The Canada Aviation and Space Museum explains ADS-B in two minutes. Video: Canada Aviation and Space Museum<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What the Trackers Do Not See<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>There are limits. Aircraft can fly with their transponders off, and many military missions do. Flight trackers show where an aircraft is, not what it is doing. And privacy programmes such as the FAA&#39;s LADD scheme can hide some aircraft from tracking websites, though because ADS-B is unencrypted, the raw data can still be received by anyone listening.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>So the next time you spot a lonely jet circling off a coastline on your flight-tracking app, you may be looking at a spy plane at work. It is visible because its crew want other aircraft to see them. What it is listening to stays secret.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 6px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cKrW0aoB_6w\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">Captain Joe on ADS-B and the future of aircraft surveillance. Video: Captain Joe<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: Flightradar24, Wikipedia (ADS-B), The Aviationist, UK Defence Journal<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>How can I see spy planes on Flightradar24?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Many military reconnaissance aircraft, such as RC-135 Rivet Joints and RQ-4 Global Hawks, fly with transponders switched on in international airspace. Flight trackers like Flightradar24 pick up their ADS-B or Mode S signals through volunteer receivers, so the aircraft appear on the public map.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why do military spy planes turn on their transponders?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Military aircraft broadcast on Mode S or ADS-B mainly for safety and deconfliction with civilian traffic in international airspace. It gives little away to an adversary, which tracks them on its own radar anyway, but it lets airliners and air traffic control see them.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is ADS-B?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">ADS-B, or Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, is a system in which an aircraft automatically broadcasts its identity, position, altitude and velocity. It uses 1090 MHz Extended Squitter or 978 MHz UAT, and it has been mandatory in most controlled US airspace since 1 January 2020.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is MLAT in flight tracking?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">MLAT, or multilateration, locates aircraft that transmit Mode S transponder signals without position data. Several ground receivers record the exact time the same signal arrives, and the differences in arrival time are used to calculate the aircraft&amp;#39;s position. Many military aircraft are tracked this way.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Did a US spy plane use a fake identity?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">On 7 September 2020 a US Air Force RC-135W near Hainan transmitted a Malaysian hex code instead of its own, according to The Aviationist. It did not hide the aircraft from Chinese radar; former RC-135 commander Robert Hopkins said the practice offered zero operational advantage.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Can aircraft hide from flight tracking websites?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes, to a degree. Aircraft can fly with transponders off, and programmes such as the FAA&amp;#39;s LADD can block some aircraft from tracking sites. But because ADS-B signals are unencrypted, anyone with a receiver can still pick up an aircraft that is transmitting.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How can I see spy planes on Flightradar24?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Many military reconnaissance aircraft, such as RC-135 Rivet Joints and RQ-4 Global Hawks, fly with transponders switched on in international airspace. 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But because ADS-B signals are unencrypted, anyone with a receiver can still pick up an aircraft that is transmitting.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/rc-135s-cobra-ball-missile-tracking-spy-plane\/\">The Spy Plane With One Black Wing<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/squawk-codes-explained-1200-7000-7400-7777\/\">Squawk Codes Explained: 1200, 7000, 7400 and 7777<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/gps-jamming-los-angeles-united-airlines-interference-2026\/\">GPS Jamming Over Los Angeles: United Crews Report Interference<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RC-135s and Global Hawks show up on public flight trackers almost daily. How ADS-B and MLAT reveal them, and why their crews switch their transponders on.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25046677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[665,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25047216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Spy Planes on Flightradar24: How ADS-B Exposes Them | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why spy planes like the RC-135 and Global Hawk appear on Flightradar24: how ADS-B and MLAT work and why military crews switch their transponders on.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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